Thanks!

Today has been full of nice surprises. This morning after I walked eight miles our great volunteers Matt, Meghann, Danika and a friend arrived to help Tony and walk our dogs.

During our visit I asked Matt if his cowboy hat was still working. "Yes, ma'm!" Matt said. "I love my cowboy hat and so do the women. In fact, I've got a girlfriend that I want you to meet. She's really sweet..." After Matt's hat update Meghann told us about her and Lisa's duplex that they have rented and how cool it was. Hearing their good news made me happy for them.

After lunch T. and I took Lucky to Hoegemeyers Animal Clinic because he wasn't feeling good. Lucky is our beloved three-legged cat and he is over fourteen years old. Our ride to Kerrville was not enjoyable because Lucky hates being crated so he screamed and made god awful sounds the entire twenty-two miles.

When we arrived at the clinic they were very busy with clients. After a quick examination by the vet he told us that he wanted to keep Lucky overnight so he could examine him more thoroughly. Our next stop was at the Post Office so I could mail out a copy of Tom D. Wells' book Drop-Ins to my sister Cindy. Then we went to another one of my favorite places in Kerrville—the Wild Birds Unlimited store.

When we got out of Buttermilk to go into the store the first thing I noticed was this beautiful, gigantic wind chime hanging out on the sidewalk. "Tony, I love this wind chime! I wonder how much it is?" Then I looked at the price tag and frowned knowing I couldn't afford it.

"How much is it?" Tone asked.

"Nearly four hundred dollars," I replied. "It is definitely worth that much money, but I ain't paying it. I'll bet you that I can make one like that for a lot less money." Then we walked inside the store and were greeted by the friendly owner. "I love your giant wind chime outside," I said as I walked over to the seed cake treats display. "And I love your store. The vibes in here are fantastic!" I grabbed two packages of Woodpecker Picnic seed cakes that Jon Wolfmueller had highly recommended we use and then we browsed around the store at all of their cool bird products before paying for the seed cakes. Then we headed home.

Before turning off Highway 16 we went to the mailboxes to get our mail and we had a lot of it. As Tony slowly drove the last two and a half miles to the rescue ranch I looked at our mail. Most of it was advertisements asking us to buy things that we didn't need or want. Then I opened up a package from my sister Cindy. She had sent me the cutest card and a mystery book that we had talked about, that she thought I would love to read because it takes place around the Texas Hill Country. The name of the book is Chile Death by Susan Wittig Albert and I can't wait to read it and I plan to start reading it tonight. 

Then I opened up a card sent to me from Will Hoover, my good writer friend who lives in Hawaii. A while back I had sent him a copy of my new book, because he is in one of the stories. The minute I opened up the card I laughed out loud when I saw Hoover's picture. I showed Tony the picture of Will that was taken at the Jimmie Rodgers Museum in Meridian, Mississippi on September 8, 2009 and he laughed, too. Then I read his sweet note out loud.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone and taking care of ranch business. Early this evening I got a call from Dr. Rydberg about Lucky and it was not good news. He told me that we can pick Lucky up tomorrow and bring him home and that we should count every week that he is with us as a blessing. Kinky and Tony were both upset when I told them the news about Lucky.

I am feeling pretty sad about Lucky tonight, but before I end tonight's blog I want to thank my sweet sister Cindy and fellow Libra friend Will Hoover for making me smile and laugh today.

Y'all have a great evening.